Harrison twins' dad talks about final days of recruitment

The father of Andrew and Aaron Harrison spoke to the Herald-Leader on Tuesday about the final days of the recruitment of the two highest-ranked guards in the country. Find out what's going into the decision.

Fort Bend Travis guard Aaron Harrison (3) drives to the basket past Lewisville Marcus guard Phil Forte (10) during the second half of the UIL class 5A state championship high school basketball game at the Erwin Center on Saturday, March 10, 2012, in Austin. Lewisville Marcus won the game 56-52. ( Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle )
Houston Chronicle

Aaron Harrison (3) and Andrew Harrison (5) of the Fort Bend Travis Tigers tried to trap Atif Russell of the Seven Lakes Spartans in the class 5A Region III playoffs at Campbell Center in Houston, Texas in March 2011. Photo by Thomas B. Shea, special to the Chronicle
For the Houston Chronicle

Travis' Andrew Harrison (5) drives up the court during the first half of the high school boys season opening basketball game at the Merrell Center in Katy, Nov. 14, 2011. Score at the half: Yates-38, Travis-37. ( Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle )
Houston Chronicle

Travis' Andrew Harrison (5) goes up for the basket against Yates' JC Washington (5) during the first half of the high school boys season opening basketball game at the Merrell Center in Katy, Nov. 14, 2011. Score at the half: Yates-38, Travis-37. ( Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle )
Houston Chronicle

The announcement everyone is waiting for is two days away. For Aaron Harrison Sr., it sounds as if it can't come soon enough.

The father of Andrew and Aaron Harrison spoke to the Herald-Leader on Tuesday about the final days of the recruitment of the two highest-ranked guards in the country.

They'll announce their college destination Thursday at 5 p.m. on ESPNU.

"It's not as easy a decision as people think it is," Harrison Sr. said. "Either way, it's tough."

The choices are Kentucky, Maryland and Southern Methodist University.

The elder Harrison said the twins, who are ranked No. 2 and 3 in the country by Scout.com, seem to have already made a decision, but he doesn't know what it is.

"I guess they have (decided)," he said. "We have an agreement, basically, that they will just say it on TV and everyone will be surprised and I'll leave it alone."

Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon will make one last trip to Houston on Wednesday in an attempt to either reinforce or reverse the Harrisons' decision. It'll be Turgeon's third visit to see the twins since the contact period began last month.

John Calipari, who visited the twins on the first day of the contact period, has been to Houston twice in the past few weeks. Their father declined to name the date of the UK coach's second (and previously unknown) visit.

"He asked me not to disclose that, but he has been here (twice)," he said.

And then there's SMU. The elder Harrison said the Mustangs are a legitimate option for his sons. And there's one reason for that interest.

"They have Larry Brown at their school," he said. "You guys don't know my kids like I know them. Andrew could tell you everything there is to know about Larry Brown. ... He definitely was a fan of Allen Iverson. Andrew's a basketball buff kind of guy. He watches the classic NBA channel 24/7."

Harrison Sr. said he wouldn't let his feelings influence his sons' decision.

"I'm their father. I'm still not going to send them somewhere they don't want to go," he said. "Yes, I could say, 'Son, you're going to school here.' Never. They would say, 'Daddy, we object.' They'll be 18 next month. I think me and my wife have done a good job turning them into young men. They have good, sound judgment and good morals. Most people don't know stuff. They say stuff, but they don't know stuff."

The elder Harrison did acknowledge telling USA Today reporter Eric Prisbell that Maryland's Turgeon is "the most upright citizen I have met in basketball."

He said that relationship goes back several years, when Turgeon was the head coach at Texas A&M. The relationship developed as a result of a tragedy that claimed the lives of two people, one of them Aggies recruit Tobi Oyedeji.

"Aaron and Andrew were in the eighth or ninth grade," he said. "And there was a kid named Oyedeji. He had a car accident, and he was killed in the accident. It was his prom night. ... Coach Turgeon did some things behind the scenes that he never wanted to come out and be public. ... And that kind of deal is what you think of a man. So, for me, that was pretty big."

Much has been made of the elder Harrison's long relationship with Turgeon, the father's family ties in Baltimore and the family's AAU connections to Under Armour, which outfits Maryland athletics.

In one of Prisbell's tweets Tuesday, it was mentioned that an Under Armour official has the direct phone number for the Harrison twins, but the college coaches involved in their recruitment do not.

Their father acknowledged that the Under Armour official was the first to get his sons' new number, but he said that official is not the only one who has it.

"Wow!" he said. "No, Coach Turgeon and Coach Calipari have their number. I changed their number right after (Under Armour) Elite 24 (in August) and the UA guy, Chris Hightower, was the first one to have their number. He probably had it a week before anybody else. It wasn't like some big secret. (The coaches) just never got around to asking for it, and when they asked for it, we gave it to them."

It has seemed at times that Harrison and his sons have sent out conflicting info on their recruitment, but the father said the twins have always been of one mind.

Whatever decision has been made, it has been made by them.

"If two people have been on the same page, it would be Aaron and Andrew," he said. "The first time someone asked me the question about them going to different schools, it was something I'd never thought about it. It's just who they are. It's just, 'That's my best friend; what would you expect?'"

Aaron Harrison Jr. told Scout.com last week that he and his brother planned to attend Kentucky's Big Blue Madness on Oct. 12. Their father had previously indicated that the twins might visit Maryland for that school's madness event on the same night.

Now that the twins' school decision will be made before Oct. 12, Harrison Sr. said it was possible that the family would visit the madness event at whichever school the twins choose.

"But we haven't really decided on that," he said.

First, they have a bigger decision to announce.

Harrison Sr. emphasized that he doesn't know what that decision is ... yet.